HowItWorks

I’m an alcoholic taking action to work the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. My tweets are moments of experience, strength, and hope. I share in a general way how AA helped me stop drinking and start living. I have recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body. You can, too.

Today, I get to respond to adversity and setbacks with an even keel. Before AA, my ego and fear would cause me to respond in unhelpful ways to any situation I didn’t like. Today, I can address unexpected challenges in ways that remove the problem rather than intensifying it.

Today’s daily reflection reminds me that if I want to be forgiven for my trespasses, I must forgive others for theirs. The word “as” in the Lord’s Prayer is the golden rule - forgive others as we would have them forgive us.

Each morning, I’m presented with an opportunity to live in the sunlight or the shadow. AA has taught me to use a few simple tools to maximize the quality of my day, even when things don’t turn out as I’ want. I can turn bad days into average days or average days into great days!

“Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.” A newcomer shared these words in a meeting; something she heard in therapy. These words help me drop the burdensome rocks that weigh me down. I can’t always avoid painful losses or moments, but I don’t have to hold on to that pain.

My fears don’t justify my bad behavior. AA taught me what to do with my anxiety, stress, and worry. They are inevitable, but they are no longer poisonous. Today, I stay focused on what IS happening, not what COULD happen.

The small sacrifices I voluntarily make today prevent the huge involuntary consequences tomorrow.

AA taught me to look back at the source of my troubles. It is always me. If I’d only just done (or not done) something yesterday, my troubles would be avoided today. I now have the wisdom to do things I might not always enjoy in the moment, but they prevent trouble later!

The miracle isn’t that I figured out a way to change the world. The miracle is that I figured out a way to change myself. Once that happened, I became at peace with a world that no longer needed fixing.

Constantly amazed at the serenity earned by choosing to focus on fixing my own problems instead of everyone else’s. My forever alcoholic mind works hard to convince me that fixing all of your problems will somehow fix all of mine. AA restores my sanity when I take action.

Today I am grateful for the program of AA and my newly-learned ability to say “no, thank you” to unnecessary conflict. If we disagree, I’m at peace with that. It isn’t my job to fix anything except myself.

I don’t humbly ask Him to remove specific shortcomings. His list of the shortcomings that need to be removed is different than mine. So I don’t interfere with His plan.

I am allergic to character defects in exactly the same way I am allergic to alcohol. Others may imbibe and be just fine. All around me are people who can be hateful, resentful, angry, or fearful. And somehow they don’t wind up hopeless. But that’s not what happens when I imbibe.

I am allergic to alcohol. Other people can take a drink without ending up hopeless. That hasn’t been my experience. Similarly, I am allergic to hate, fear, arrogance, and ego. Other people can hold on to those emotions without ending up hopeless. That hasn’t been my experience.

The more often I do “the next right thing,” the more often I’m satisfied with how things turn out. And in those moments when things don’t turn out like I’d hoped, I have yet another opportunity to do the next right thing in how I choose to respond.

AA has taught me that the important things I am afraid to do - from small tasks that barely take a few minutes, to big tasks that have equally big rewards - are manageable and necessary to keep me moving forward.

When I first came to AA, I worked the promises to make the steps come true. I desired freedom. I wanted to be better. I hoped for change. Five minutes of taking action does more to keep me sober than five days of thinking about it.

“Thinking about it” is as important to sobriety as it is to dieting. If I want to lose weight, “thinking about it” is only helpful in the few seconds it takes for me to stand up and do something healthy. The hours I spend “thinking” about losing weight are 99% ineffective.

By reporting to a job and doing what’s asked of me, I’m earning my wages. I don’t get to say: “I worked yesterday, please pay me for today.” I don’t get to say: “I spent a long time thinking about working.” When I take action throughout my day, I’m earning that day’s serenity.

AA teaches me what to do with fear, anxiety, anger, and resentment. Before AA, those emotions determined my behavior without much filtering, and they often made things worse. Today, I have the power to pay attention to negative emotions and either accept them or change them.

My allergy to alcohol is just like an allergy to peanuts. No amount of excuses (clever or crazy) will change the outcome. “Just this once, never before 5pm, only with food, or only on the weekends.” The outcome is always the same and always miserable. I’ve learned to surrender.